Herbert Pell

Herbert Pell
United States Ambassador to Hungary
In office February 11, 1941 – November 30, 1942
President	Franklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded by	John Flournoy Montgomery
Succeeded by	None
United States Ambassador to Portugal
In office May 27, 1937 – February 11, 1941
President	Franklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded by	Robert Granville Caldwell
Succeeded by	Bert Fish
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 17th district
In office March 4, 1919 – March 3, 1921
Preceded by	John F. Carew
Succeeded by	Ogden L. Mills
Personal details
Born	Herbert Claiborne Pell, Jr. (1884-02-16)February 16, 1884 Brooklyn, New York
Died	July 17, 1961(1961-07-17) (aged 77) Munich, Germany
Political party	Democrat
Spouse(s)	Matilda Bigelow (m. 1915; div. 1927) Olive Bigelow Tilton (m. 1927; his death 1961)
Children	Claiborne Pell
Education	Pomfret School
Alma mater	Harvard University Columbia University New York University

Herbert Claiborne Pell, Jr. (February 16, 1884 – July 17, 1961) was a United States Representative from New York, U.S. Minister to Portugal, U.S. Minister to Hungary, and an instigator and member of the United Nations War Crimes Commission.

Mr. Pell was an internationalist and progressive among a class of economic conservatives and geopolitical isolationists. He was the leading American seeking to build awareness of and prevent the Holocaust—and prosecute those responsible—as the principal U.S. sponsor and member of the United Nations War Crimes Commission. Mr. Pell had extensive first-hand experience in international affairs, having lived many years in Europe. He also served on the advisory committee of Yenching University, later merged with Peking University.

Early life

Pell was born in New York City on February 16, 1884. He was the eldest son of two children born to Katherine Lorillard (née Kernochan) Pell (1858–1917) and Herbert Claiborne Pell (1853–1926). His younger brother was Clarence Cecil Pell (1885–1964). He was a great-grandson of U.S. Representative John Francis Hamtramck Claiborne, and great-great-grandnephew of William Charles Cole Claiborne and Nathaniel Herbert Claiborne.^[1] Through his mother and maternal grandparents, James Powell Kernochan and Catherine (née Lorillard) Kernochan, the daughter of Pierre Lorillard III, he inherited a share of the Lorillard Tobacco fortune.

Pell was educated at the Pomfret School, in Connecticut. He attended Harvard University, Columbia University, and New York University, but did not complete a degree.^[2]

Career

Pell's political career began as a member of the Progressive committee of Orange County, New York (1912 to 1914). He was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-sixth Congress (March 4, 1919 – March 3, 1921) and was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1920 to the Sixty-seventh Congress.^[3] He was chairman of the Democratic State committee from 1921 to 1926 and a delegate to the 1924 Democratic National Convention. Pell was an occasional lecturer at Columbia University, Harvard University, and other institutions of learning, and in 1936 was vice chairman of the Democratic National Campaign Committee.^[1]

Pell was appointed from Rhode Island as Minister to Portugal, holding that office from May 27, 1937 until February 11, 1941, when he was appointed Minister to Hungary. He was serving in Budapest on December 13, 1941 when he received the Hungarian declaration of war against the United States. He closed the legation in Budapest, returned to the U.S. on January 16, 1942 and submitted his resignation on November 30, 1942. He was United States representative on the United Nations War Crimes Commission from August 1943 to January 1945.^[1]

Personal life

In November 1915, he married Matilda Bigelow (1895-1972),^[4] daughter of Nelson Pendleton Bigelow.^[5] Before their divorce in March 1927, they were the parents of:^[6]

• Claiborne de Borda Pell (1918–2009), a U.S. Senator from Rhode Island who served for 36 years from 1961 until 1997.^[7]

In June 1927, Matilda married Hugo W. Koehler (1886-1941), a commander in the United States Navy who served as a naval and State Department special agent in Russia during its civil war in 1920.^[8][9] Two weeks later in Paris,^[10] Pell married Olive Bigelow Pell (1886-1980),^[11] the portraitist.^[12][13] Olive Bigelow was the daughter of Poultney Bigelow (1855-1954) and granddaughter of John Bigelow (1817–1911), the U.S. Ambassador to France under Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson.^[10]

Pell died on July 17, 1961 in Munich, Germany at the age of 77, while touring Europe with his grandson, Herbert Pell III.^[14] His funeral was held at Trinity Church in Newport, Rhode Island where there is a memorial plaque in his honor. His ashes were committed to the ocean off Beavertail in Jamestown, Rhode Island.^[1]

References

Notes

Sources

• Herbert Claiborne Pell, "Preparing for the Next War," American Mercury, v. 23, no.92 (August 1931) 455-463.
• United States Congress. "Herbert Pell (id: P000194)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Baker, Leonard. Brahmin in Revolt; A Biography of Herbert C. Pell. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1972.
• Blayney, Michael S. Diplomat and Humanist: The Diplomatic Career of Herbert Claiborne Pell. Ph.D. dissertation, Washington State University, 1973.
• http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=134584

External links

• Herbert Pell at Find a Grave